Merith
Merith is a male elf NPC in the Om campaign. Summary Merith is a community leader among the elves of the Dralthanor Tribe who was imprisoned by the Duke Agrippa amid accusations of him leading the Wild Runners. He was later identified by the Heralds as the next king of the Kirathi Elves and broken out of prison by the Fate Fighters. He claimed his title at an elf moot but was challenged by Gallerius and re-captured when the Gildornians attacked the moot. He was freed again by the Fate Fighters and ventured into the tomb of the last elf king to claim the crown and title of King the Kirathi Elves. Background Merith was born of high station among the Dralthanor Tribe and therefore well educated. He was a community leader among his people. When the Gildornians did not provide the grain stores promised to the Kirathi people by treaty, he was chosen by the elven tribes to travel to Waymere to meet with the Governor-General, Duke Marcus Cornelius Agrippa, to request that Gildorn abide by their agreement. Instead of providing the grain, Agrippa accused Merith of being the leader of the Wild Runners and had him arrested and imprisoned in Stonegate prison on Praetor’s Block. A Fateful Visit Merith languished in prison for some time, despite multiple unsuccessful attacks on Waymere by the Wild Runners demanding (among other things) his release. On the 5th of the Twins, 465, he was visited in prison by the Fate Fighters. They inquired if the Wild Runners or the elves in general had attempted to assassinate Gunnar the Wolf to prevent an alliance between Gildorn and the Thunnish people. Merith denied this, but he admitted that the leader of the Wild Runners, Tugadumness, may have initiated such a plan without his knowledge, and lamented that he'd tried to dissuade the man from violence. The Fate Fighters revealed to him that the half-elves Fynnhanar and Fernith had entered Halthadrian's Tomb and that the spirit of the dead king had named them the Heralds, and that they both believed that Merith was destined to be the king of the united Kirathi elves. This news rocked him to the core and he begged them to get him to the tomb with all due haste. Jasper Conroy provided a polymorph potion that Merith could secret upon his person and use to escape that night. The Fate Fighters arranged a rendezvous and, to keep the cover to the Gildornian guards that they'd interrogated him harshly, roughed him up just enough to look convincing. The Escape Merith was able to successfully secret the potion inside his body and prevent the bottle from breaking when he was beaten by Sir Stephen, the warden of the prison. Though the Fate Fighters had suggested he use the potion to transform into something small and unobtrusive so he could sneak out of the prison unseen, Merith was not willing to leave so many of the wrongfully jailed to their fate by doing so. Accordingly, that night he drank the potion and turned into a huge, hulking Wererat and began to tear through bars and guardsman alike, freeing many prisoners before fleeing the prison. In such a form he was quickly spotted when heading to the rendezvous location to meet with the Fate Fighters and was pursued there by Gildornian watchmen. Only Wu Xen was at the meeting spot, and he joined Merith in fighting the Gildornians chasing him. The two then hid and, after waiting for the potion to wear off and Merith to return to his true form, made their way to the Underdens to make their way out of the city. Wu provided Merith with a weapons, fresh clothing, food and water and a magical hat that allowed the elf to disguise himself as a human. The two snuck through the Underdens and slipped out of the city minimal difficulty. Wu warned Merith that there was a great deal of danger, and feared that Tugadumness would seek Merith's death or re-imprisonment to allow him to continue to take power amid the elves. He urged Merith to locate Korroticus before anyone else to get an update on current events. Merith thanked Wu warmly and parted ways with him. Making Preparations Merith was on the road for less than a day when Korroticus found him and ferried him back to Dralthanor by griffonback. The two compared notes, and Korroticus informed Merith that the Fate Fighters had uncovered evidence that three banished Gods called The Triad were attempting to return to Om, a processes that would breed horrific devastation. They claimed that the Triad's corruption had reached the royal court of Orlesea, probably very high in Gildorn and, worse, that it may have even reached the elves. Korroticus said he'd met with the Fate Fighters earlier that day and that Tugadumness had led an attack on Gunnar the Wolf. He and his entire party were slain, but that one of the Fate Fighters, Opal of the Valthanor Tribe, claimed that one of the elven clerics in Tugadumness' party carried the holy symbol of the Triad. Worse, Korroticus informed Merith that two Gildornian regiments were marching to Kal-Thalas, where the Moot of the Tribes to select a king would need to take place. Merith returned to Dralthanor and immediately began making the needed preparations to garner support and lay the groundwork at the Moot to claim the title of King of the Kirathi Elves. The Moot of the Kirathi Tribes On the 10th of the Twins, 465, the moon would be high and thus the Moot of the Kirathi Tribes could take place in the Grove of the Dancer in Kal-Thalas. Merith led the delegation of the Dralthanor Tribe to Kal-Thalas. Due to the fact that Kal-Thalas was now the seat of the Gildornian Prefect and fully occupied by Gildornian forces, the elves would need to take precautions as edicts from Duke Agrippa did not allow elves to congregate in numbers of more than three or four. Before the moot Korroticus brought Fernith and Wu Xen to meet with Merith. He embraced Wu, calling him a battle brother, and expressing his pleasure that he was present. Wu spoke with him briefly, seeming to confirm that Merith was interested in living in harmony, should Gildorn be willing to do the same, and to try to put an end to violence. Merith assured him that this was his desire. Fern informed him that the Valthanor Tribe would attend the moot, something that had not happened in hundreds of years. Merth excused himself, as he needed to make preparations to account for the participation of the Valthanor Tribe. That night, when the moon was high, the moot was convened. After the normal business of grievances and agreements between tribes was addressed, Korroticus called upon the moot to hear the words of their guests. The human cleric Decius spoke first, telling of the fiery apocalypse brewing in the west that Jamor had shown him, and urging all races to band together to stave off annihilation. Wu Xen spoke next, also warning of the danger to the west but also urging the elven tribes to unite under Merith and build a strong nation that could co-exist with Gildorn, and fight to force that recognition if necessary. Elrir "the Opal" spoke a few words as well, urging the Gildornians to be bloodied and brought to heel for their racism and unjust treatment of elves. The Twins spoke next, explaining their experience Halthadrian's Tomb, the words the elf king's spirit had told them and the confirmation that Merith was the next, true king of a united elven people. Finally it was Merith's turn to speak, and he rose and delivered the speech he'd painstakingly prepared and agonized over. It was a rousing speech about how the Gildornians had wronged the elves and would continue to do so and how capitulation would only end in their destruction. He avowed that he would live in peace with any who showed elves equal respect but he would just as readily bring war to those who sought to harm them. However, then Gallerius of the Lorathel Tribe, Tugadumness' second in command, spoke He condemned the Fate Fighters as Gildornian agents and implied that Merith had not been imprisoned in Waymere, but treating with the Gildornians as an ally. He accused them of all having only Gildornian interests at heart, stated that only he could save the elven people, and urged the tribes to name him as king and join him in a war against Gildorn. The moot adjourned for a day to discuss the developments and the tribes votes for king. When it adjourned the following night, however, it was promptly attacked. Warned by the terrified Ioaus of the Nilthanar Tribe, the Gildornians contracted the Grey Wizards of Waymere to teleport a squad of soldiers into the moot while a column of men marched on it form without. The attack squad was equipped with magic items that allowed them to magically paralyze a person and then teleport back to Waymere with them. In this matter they were able to capture Merith, along with his Tribe mates Memnon and Tacitus as well as Athos of the Valthanor Tribe. The soldiers activated a magical brooch and teleported away with their prisoners. A Prisoner Again Merith was quickly imprisoned alongside Memnon, Tacitus and Athos. The Grey Wizards ultimately handed them over to Duke Marcus Cornelius Agrippa to be executed in a public ceremony on the 20th of Twins. However the wizards fitted all four elves with magical collars that would dull there mind to near non-sentience and keep them lethargic and sedate. Rescued Merith and the elves were held for around a week and were condemned to die by public execution on the 20th of The Twins. They and were imprisoned until than, and still stupefied under the magical collars. On that date the Gildornians held a grand parade with the expectation of the executions to be the finale. However the Fate Fighters had planned a rescue effort, and attacked the proceedings. As soon as the attack was launched, however, Duke Agrippa ordered for the elves to be killed immediately. Two of the prisoners, Tacitus and Athos, were executed before the Fate Fighters could intervene, though they were able to escape with the still stupefied Memnon and Merith. The Fate Fighters extracted the two surviving elf prisoners to the sewers to escape the city and attempted to remove the magical collars from the two elves. They were not able to remove Merith’s though they were able to remove Memnon's. Memnon and the Fate Fighters made a trek through the sewers and ultimately escaped from Waymere, returning to Stonewatch Abbey where they were able to remove Merith's collar and allow him to recover. Recovery and Lessons at Stonewatch Abbey Merith spent the next week at Stonewatch Abbey, studying whatever texts they had on history and governance and taking the time to get to know the humans there. He had long conversations with Decius the Messenger, and Atticus Brock, while also making it a point to converse briefly with Bethalanalas Argwyn, who had also been recently rescued by the Fate Fighters. The time proved valuble to Merith, allowing him to see the humans as merely people trying to survive the whims of fate thrust upon them by the Gildornian and Orlesean crowns, and not all as monolithic examples who all carried the worst excesses of Duke Agrippa's policies. Merith also spoke with various members of the Fate Fighters. He was eager to launch the expedition to Halthadrian's Tomb as quickly as possible, but saw the wisdom in waiting until a party could be gathered. He accepted Wu's suggestion to invite a representative from each of the four tribes to witness his entry into the tomb. He suggested the names of those he felt would carry the most clout based on what they saw, specifically choosing men who were skeptical of him on a personal level feeling that this would make their accounts even more believable. At last, by the 2nd of Minstrel, 465, the arrangements had all been made and he was teleported to the tomb by the Heralds, Fynn and Fern, to meet with the other elves who would attend with him. Expedition into Halthadrian's Tomb Fynn, Fern and Merith arrived to find that most of the gathered members of the expedition were present. Korroticus had arrived, bringing Gordanius of the Kal-Thalas Tribe and Abyalynn as a bodyguard. Memnon had also arrived, bringing Ethlandos and Bethalanalas Argwyn from the Nilthanar Tribe and Opal from the Valthanor had arrived on his own. Soon afterwards the rest of the Fate Fighters arrived as well. The Fate Fighters warned that on their last journey into the caves they had battled with a tribe of skum, and that the creatures could still be active. As a result it was agreed that Mertih and Korroticus would accompany the Fate Fighters into the tomb to ensure it was safe and the others would wait outside until summoned. Merith was awed to be within the fabled cave of Halthadrian’s Tomb, as it was somewhat taboo for elves to enter. Inside the party did, indeed, need to fight their way past a number of skum, led by one that the Fate Fighters called “Steve.” They also learned that a party of Wild Runners led by Gallerius himself had preceded them into the tomb. During their investigation they came upon the Wild Runners, who were fighting a losing battle against the skum. “Steve” had managed to poison and kidnap Gallerius while his minions covered his escape. Merith ordered Korroticus and the Fate Fighters to assist the Wild Runners and try to save Gallerius. Korraticus quietly questioned this order, but Merith explained that if he were save Gallerius he would be in their debit and the other Wild Runners present would see his mercy and be inclined to support him. Korroticus agreed and he and the Fate Fighters engaged. In short order the skum were slain, “Steve” was defeated and Gallerius, while unconscious and still poisoned, was rescued. Merith ordered that Gallerius was to be spared and requested his second-in-command on the mission, Cithrel, to attend the events inside the tomb so he could witness what would be seen and spread the story. Fynn collected Ethlandos, Bethalanalas, and Gordianus once the way was clear. Fynn and Fern, as the Heralds, led the way as Merith, Korroticus, Opal, Cithrel, Ethlandos, Bethalanalas, and Gordianus entered the tomb. The bones of Halthadrian demanded who stood before him and Merith announced himself. Halthadrian's spirit demanded to know if Merith sought to rule the Kirathi, and the elf responded that he sought to free them, not rule them. The skeleton of Halthadrian then rose and advanced upon Merith, examining him. After a moment he warned "when you light the spark of freedom in the Kirathi, it shall grow into a raging flame. It can either be a cleansing fire that brings new life to the elves or it can be a destructive inferno that consumes all, leaving only ash behind. I foresee dangerous times ahead for the elves. Are you prepared to steward the fire?” Merith stated that he was and Halthadrian removed the crown from his bony pate and placed it upon Merith's head, naming him the King of the Kirathi. The skeleton then slumped back upon this throne and promptly crumbled to dust, the dead king's spirit finally at rest after so many centuries. The elves and Fate Fighters present bowed to Merith, who declared that the Kirathi would make friends with their neighbors where possible, war when necessary, but never be ruled by anyone else ever again. Merith claimed Halthadrian's ancient weapons and armor from his tomb and donned them, striking an especially kingly look. He and the elves departed the tomb and, with Gallerius and his Wild Runners in tow, flew off on Griffonback to set about building a new Kirathi Kingdom. Category:Om Category:Characters Category:NPCs